I cut my knitting to save it (okay - that's a little dramatic...) || Craftmas day 8 

Elizabeth Zimmerman was how I learned to knit without patterns. It’s revolutionary! Just measurements and a swatch for gauge. The book “knitting without tears”. She is brilliant.

When I read the title I thought there was going to be some steeking happening and I was about to pour myself a stiff drink to fortify my nerves.

Mastery doesn’t mean you make zero mistakes, but you are able to correct them in a way that no one would notice! :)

Remember you can weave your needle through the strands leaving the eye out, thread with the short tail, and pull through. The sweater is lovely 🌻🍄

I see how you get all your knitting done so quickly! You have a clone sweatshop to do things like sleeves while you make your videos! SCIENCE!

Alternate universe you, knitting the sleeves, exhausted and harried by the perky overachiever who's fixing a few things, really minor annoyances, should plan a revolt, or force the energy bound one to take over on one of the sleeves! Loved the vid, and the editing. Take care of yourself! This series is great!

I wonder if the fad for flat knitting is associated with knitting machines from the 1700s on? Even socks were commercially knitted flat on stocking frames. (BTW I'm from Nottingham, home of framework knitting - look up the history of framework knitters in the city for some fascinating cultural changes and some Labour organisations that sprang up around it!)

That replacement stitch technique is killer! Thanks for sharing!

My own feeling is that we know perhaps a third of the history of knitting. You can get some very interesting insights into knitting in the round from some of the Shetland Wool Week videos, particularly with knitters like Heather Tindall and Alison Randall. Their traditional style was to knit in the round (on sets of just 3 needles, those stitches near the corners are tricky!) with either an English style of knitting or a mixed English/continental. To my mind the variety of knitting styles hints at either knitting having been around for a lot longer than we think or people heard about knitting (and perhaps saw samples of finished work) but were not given all the details and so they reverse-engineered it to the best of their ability. That Shakespeare referred to sleep as "knitting up the ravelled sleeve of care" suggests to me that knitting was already a well-known process - and I'm tempted to wonder if the words "knit" and "knot" are related, perhaps along with "net". The Mary in your picture looks as if she is doing English style knitting, or something like it. Her knitting basket is on her right side which is a good choice for English but not for Continental. She's definitely not doing Portuguese, as her wool is not looped around her neck. I think there's several dozen PhD theses waiting out there for fibre and textile nerds.

I knit from both ends of my skeins all the time. I hate cutting my yarn unless I'm sure I'm done with it! Happy to know about this duplicate stitch technique! ❤

Duplicate Stitch? GENIUS! How have I not seen this in the 50 years I've been knitting?

I hope you’re not working yourself too hard!! This is so much knitting to get done in such a short space of time, I was shocked when you said you’ll be making accessories too!!

Back when I really started knitting (as opposed to when i first learned as a kid) my second project was a grey and white "Fair Isle" sweater in cheap acrylic for my boyfriend. I didn't know about carrying the yarn loosely and it was all puckered. At the edges (it was knit flat) I cut the yarn, tied on a length of the same yarn, and pulled it through the stitches. I didn't know how to deal with the ends and i didn't trust the knots, so I added HOT GLUE to the knots. Finding out the library had knitting books changed my life!

I admire your engineering mind and how you can create masterpieces, but you still can also work the same section multiple times due to human error. I’m watching your videos this morning as I knit a sleeve for the third time. It’s not even difficult knitting lol. Just my ADHD brain not focusing. I love your channel because I adore vintage knitting, but I also love your honesty and realness. You and Nutella are lovely ❤

Loving this Craftmas series and the knitting history shared in them. ❤ Thank you for all of this effort. I hope it feels as rewarding to you as it seems.

When I first learnt to knit in the round I only had very long vintage DPNs. I started with socks and then I knit an Aran weight sweater on them. It was so cumbersome and unwieldy 😂 I definitely think the invention of circular needles had something to do with it! And maybe the availability of thicker yarns? Knitting on long, fine DPNs with 4ply is probably more enjoyable than a heavy Aran sweater where the stitches slide off the end constantly?

You can also ladder down and fix most mistakes (colorwork or accidental dropped or increased stitches). Especially if you notice them while you're in the middle of knitting (because that will be fewer rows you have to go down). You'll usually have enough slack to make the necessary color/stitch switch. Stockinette is the easiest fabric to do this in since all purls are on one side. The benefit of this is there's no cutting of the yarn required and it's easy to manage the situation as all the other stitches are controlled by the needles holding them.

Thank you for the insight to duplicate stitch. I have frogged my knitting before when I've made a small mistake creating a lot of work.

I know that there was a long period where forming a purl stitch was not a known technique, although this may seem wild to modern knitters. Therefore, if you wanted to knit stockinette stitch, knitting in the round (or knitting back!) was your only option, although you could steek it to form a flat piece. The wikipedia article says the earliest attested purl stitches were in the mid sixteenth century, although I'm sure individual clever knitters had figured it out, but it didn't catch on.

I love how you formatted this video. :) The fixes look so good! (At least to me, as someone who doesn't knit or really wear knitwear.) The sweater is coming along so beautifully. The colour palette you chose is phenomenal.

I remember watching a video on the history of knitting on youtube by a woman named Liz Kristan, and she said early circular needles were absolutely awful lol...so while they had them for many years, they didnt reach popularity until later on because the cables were very stiff and would snag etc. She owns her own pair and said she tried using them and that it was pretty bad.

It's beautifully done. I second thing I ever knit, was a Norwegian Ski Sweater. I was in high school, and I still havecit. My mother had made one for herself and my Dad in the 1940s before they were married. I have hers as well. I've knit so many of these sweaters, including 2 for my nephew when he was little. I wear mine for cross country skiing with just a turtle neck under. And they are so comfortable if you use wool yarn, perfect for the winter weather!

Thank You for the history of knitting sweaters !!!

Surprised to learn that knitting in the round was a standard soo far back in time

It’s so strange I learned flat and it’s only recently I’m learning top down in the round I’m my sixties now and I can’t think when top down restarted either. When my daughter was born in the 70’s mostly it was flat knitting and commercial patterns the rise of indie designers has made knitting so much more interesting to me. Yours is a very good question and I would like to know the answer myself😊

Hi Engineering Knits! I enjoy watching your channel very much and I just wanted to say that I have read that knitting patterns started to be written down and knit in pieces because of the Industrial Revolution, when sewing patterns were beginning to be printed for use with store bought, factory woven cloth, as opposed to woven at home fabric. The wtitten pattern in pieces followed the sewing patterns in pieces. Don’t know if this is the reason ans, of course, I can’t remember where I read it, but it makes sense to me.

You may or may not be correct saying that knitting in the round was popularized when the circular needle was invented, but I just wanted to share with you that in the Faroe Islands (where I'm from) we also have a rich knitting history, like Norway, and it used to be common here for 2 people to work on the same sweater at the same time. Sitting across from each other, knitting with several double pointed needles, they would knit together 🙂 Just a fun fact and to say that before the circular needle, people would just use more needles. I really love this series, BTW. It is SO interesting to watch and I subscribed after watching the first video (day 1) 😊 I can tell that you put in a huge amount of work, so thank you for sharing it with us 😊

I would guess that knitting flat happened along with flat bed knitting machines... Along with the more common "ready made" garments. I know my mom just bought a ready made sweater that looks like it was knit in the round with a pretty Scandinavian colored yoke, but it's really knit in 4 flat pieces with raglan seams machine done.

GREAT video - fun filming/editing stategy AND very informative (duplicate stitch fixing and early knitting in the round). THANKS

Wonderful editing! That was fun! Your duplicate stitch showed me how I can "fix" a horrible tension spot on a folded brim beanie I'm knitting, so thank you for all the wonderful information in this fun and entertaining video!

I do like researching Edwardian garments or just vintage patterning In general I find it to be his historically fascinating

My initial guess is that it might be that a transition that saw knitted garments be thought of more like highly shaped flat fabric pieces that go from flat to sewn into their shape. It makes me wonder if it coincided with the transition that happens in either mens or women's sewn fashion as tailoring became more and more of a thing.

Nice fix! I do a lot of knitting repairs. For short ends I use a sharp sewing needle and thread to secure on the wrong size. This comes in handy if you have a mangled hole (like your doggie found a new toy) with many short ends to repair.

I wonder if knitting things flat is related to the popularisation of knitting machines? Going from mainly home knit garments to bougth knit garments. What we wear and see are what we reproduce and alter for ourselves.

I convert patterns knitted in the flat to 4 needles where possible. The lusekofte you are wearing has given me an idea on how to steek and convert a colourwork sweater that can get too warm and would benefit from a front opening.

My theory about the rise of knitting flat is that it just wasn't deemed lady like to carry around a whole sweater, so to look pretty and whatnot knitting smaller sections with the parlour style was preferred 😂 Why is this question so fascinating???

I tell people the same thing even when I'm sewing is that they don't need to be bored with me making the whole entire garment they can just watch the clips of it smashed together is the video

Your sweater is looking beautiful. Nice knitting!

I skimmed the “Dale garn strikking og hekling med historisk sus : 63 vintage oppskrifter” book by siri sparboe (no clue if there’s a translation out there) and they seemed to suggest that Norway actually introduced circular needles to England in the 50s (I think) I don’t remember the exact specifics but it’s a really cool book if you wanna try to find it

Thank you for the Christmas videos, I look forward to them everyday!

watching this while adding colorwork to a CSM sock using duplicate stitch.

Sleeves do take forever 💜

Beautiful Christmas sweater!! Absolutely gorgeous!

Was wondering if a fabric pen would work for fixing the white stitches 🤔

I have heard of duplicate stitching and it is actually quite simple, not sure if it would work with a complicated patternwork though? But perfect for colourwork. Learning about the history of knitting is so fascinating, I love it that you add that. I am watching a historic sewist, Bernadette Banner who also has loads of info on historic dress and patterns

What kind of closure do you have on your black speckled sweater? Love your channel. You are very Courageous

Very cool 😀

I really enjoyed this video! Thank you 😊

Would you ever consider posting on Nebula? I think you'd fit right in Also colour work mistakes are my favourite time to deploy duplicate stitches but id never considered the next step

I love your “alternate version” of you idea for this video 😅 super cute

Beautiful work ❤️

I think it might be generational, as well. My mother is about to be 75, will not even entertain knitting a sweater in the round…. And I am quite the opposite. 😂 She won’t knit even knit flat pieces on circulars. Can’t wait to see the whole ensemble!

Omg please use snips next time... you had me sweating with those giant scissors! Lol😅

I so want to know how you knit those sleeves in the round and then change to flat. I have sweater sleeves to knit and the pattern is written for knitting them flat. I desperately want to knit as much as I can of them in the round!

My brain is wondering if knitting flat became popular with knitting machines

🎄

How are you doing? I have a question are you going to write this sweater pattern bc I would love to love make this sweater.

Wait. What? What kind of sorcery is this?